Wednesday, May 22, 2013

CDA 2.0

Are you interested in furthering your education by obtaining a Child Development Associate credential?   If so, you’ll need to know about the changes coming soon from the Council for Professional Recognition, effective June 1, 2013.  Here are few key details:
  • The CDA Exam will be taken at a testing center near you.
  • The role of the CDA Advisors (who currently do observations) and Council Representatives (who currently do Verification Visits) is changing, and both tasks will be conducted by a CDA Professional Development Specialist.  The Specialist will now review the Candidate’s Professional Portfolio (formerly Professional Resource File), observe the Candidate working with children, and reflect with the Candidate about areas of strength or growth.
  • The Specialists will report the results of your visit to the Council, and you can expect to hear the results of your exam and your visit much faster than in the past.
  • Instead of being assigned a Council Representative, you will be able to online and choose who you want to conduct your visit from a National Directory of Specialists.
  • There will no longer be a time limit for earning the 120 clock hours of training.  Any training or education meeting the Subject Area requirements and taken at any time during your career counts.
  • If you plan to apply on or before May 31, 2013, you will use the current CDA process and the current Competency Standards booklet and application packet.  If you plan to apply on or after June 1, 3013, you’ll need to use the new “CDA 2.0” process.  This new process requires purchase of the new application packet and Competency Standards book.
  • The CDA assessment fee will be increasing from $325 to $425 effective September 1, 2013.
You can earn the required 120 clock hours online through Child Care Aware Training Academy!  Find out more at http://www.smarthorizons.org/naccrra/ccam/  
For more information about obtaining a CDA, or about the changes to the program, visit http://www.cdacouncil.org/